thelandfandomcom-20200213-history
Toobay
Toobay is the seventh village founded on The Land, in LY 364. It is situated on the northwest coast of South Isle at roughly 11° south latitude and 87° west longitude. Its population as of the 905 census was 9,166 humans. Toobay was the third village to be founded during the period of rapid expansion following the founding of Ship, which lasted between 361 and 380. It is agriculturally self-sufficient, with a number of farms, orchards, and forests, though the predominant industry is fishing. However, while it requires no imports, it has one major export: rubber. Rubber trees were first discovered shortly after the founding of Toobay; the name of the plants and the potential use for the latex they produced were revealed to a spirit-talker and woodsman who was among the settlers, though his spirit friend did not reveal precisely how to collect or prepare the latex for use in any refined forms. It was up to scientists to figure that out, which they soon enough did, after engaging in some thought utilizing their subword sense revealed just how useful the product might become. Since that time, several uses for rubber have been found, most notably by shoemakers. Of course, rubber trees have since been harvest on other islands, on some of which the trees occur naturally, and some where the trees have been transplanted. However, Toobay is best known, historically, as the home village of the famous playwright Tooblan, who lived from 564-616, spending much of his life traveling the world. Toobay is a popular tourist destination not only because of its natural beauty, but also as an attraction for fans of Tooblan's plays. This notably includes many Sorreters, some of whom have relocated to the village, because several of Tooblan's plays featured magical elements inspired by the four years he spent living in that village. (In fact, in spite of its relatively small population, Toobay is home to the second most Sorreters of any village on the Land, though of course its tally is still vastly far removed from that of Sorret.) People who live in Toobay are referred to as "Toobers," due to an early use they found for rubber, via their subword sense: inner tubes, which are known to have a use in the making of wheels, but which thus far have not been used for that purpose. Rather, some people in Toobay, after learning to refine rubber, created inner tubes specifically for floating in the water, as a form of fun and relaxation. This did not happen until the village had been around for at least a couple of years, and at first its people were called "Toobanians." However, visitors to the village, over the years, have often been amused to see people floating in South Sound, and began calling the natives "tubers" at least as early as 367; since then, the spelling has been slightly altered to reflect the spelling of the village's name, and the nickname was soon accepted by the erstwhile Toobanians as their new official designation. Category:Places